Here are some of the new rules Pelosi wants: No House member may accept any gift of any value from lobbyists, or any firm or association that hires lobbyists.
No free travel, which means an end to the corporate jet line every Friday at Reagan National Airport.
No free tickets to Redskins games; or no meals of any value, even at a McDonalds; no front-row seats at entertainment venues. No, no and no.
Temptations resisted
To reduce temptations to cheat, Pelosi’s bill attacks the usefulness of members to richly endowed lobbyists.
House members will no longer be able to slip in special-interest projects on unrelated legislation. Such measures will no longer be allowed on a bill once negotiations between the Senate and House are complete.
Further, all bills will be made available to the public a full 24 hours before a final vote; presumably this gives watchdog groups a chance to flag any skullduggery.
Under the Pelosi rules, lobbyists will no longer be able to use the House gym (you’d be surprised how much gets negotiated in a sauna).
Lobbyists will no longer be allowed onto the House floor or to use the cloakrooms just off the floor, preventing last-minute arm-twisting.
What’s more, no member or staffer will be able to negotiate for employment in the public sector without disclosing such contacts to the House Ethics Committee, and within three days of such contact being made.
Finally, all of this will be audited and investigated by a new Office of Public Integrity, and that office reports, directly and only, to the U.S. Attorneys Office.
House members will no longer be able to slip in special-interest projects on unrelated legislation. Such measures will no longer be allowed on a bill once negotiations between the Senate and House are complete.
…And the House Ethics Committee will be audited by a new office that is run out of the Justice Department, entirely independent of the Legislature. I guess you skipped that part.
Definitely. I had little respect for her before, as part of the establish “DNC” democrats that I’m so sick of. Getting stuff like this done would help turn that negative view around!
I like this. I like this a lot. I like this so much that, although this is along the lines of what I would’ve wanted to see, I never expected it. Pelosi +1.
AWESOME. That section addresses everything I think is wrong with our government today. If she actually pulls this off without it being corrupted somehow, then I nominate Nancy Pelosi for president.
When the House passed a massive spending bill last November, Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi made sure her constituents knew what they were getting.
“Pelosi Secures $115 Million for San Francisco Transportation, Housing, Science and Arts,” she proclaimed in a news release.
It wasn’t an unusual announcement. Like many of her colleagues in Congress, Pelosi for years has celebrated bringing home the bacon to her district.
But now — as Pelosi prepares to take over the House after an election in which scandal helped drive Republicans from power — she is promising changes to the controversial practice of earmarking.
